8657 
'95  s^ 


V 


^■ 


Sensational  Prison  "Rscapes  Prom 
The  Oregon  State  Penitentiary 


I 

i 

SENSATIONAL 


PRISON 
ESCAPES 


FIIOM    THE 


STATE   PENITENTIARY 


Price  25  Cents 
Bv  Prisoner  No.  WSf) 


I 


i 

ORE(J()N  I 


4 . 


w   I  M  ^«»— «—— »y 


1  I 

SOUVENIRS  1 

AND  CURIOS  I 

Made  by   Prisoners   during   spare  time   j 
and  sold  at  prices  extremely  low  j 


SILVER  WORK  j 

BUTTER  KNIVES.  PAPER  KNIVES,  NAIL    ! 


FILES,  BUTTON  HOOKS,   RINGS. 

BUCKLES,  SPURS, 

BRIDLE  BITS, 

Handsomely  Engraved  and  Inlaid  with 
Mother  of  Pearl 


I 


HAIR  GOODS 

HAT  BANDS,  BELTS.  FOBS,  CHAINS. 


For  prices  address 

THOMAS  LOTISSO, 

Rt.  6,  Box  1,  Salem,  Oregon. 

i  i 


■^\■ 


SENSATIONAL 
PRISON 


ESCAPES 


FROM  THE 


OREGON 


STATE  PENITENTIARY 


Price  25  cents 

Hv  Prisoner  No.  ()48r) 


•  «  ,  • 


INTRODUCTORY 

HERE  are  but  few  events  that  arouse  pub- 
lic interest  to  a  hio-her  pitch  than  an  es- 
cape from  the  penitentiary.  The  oflarin.e 
headlines  of  the  daily  press.  makin.sr  the  most  of 
sensational  news,  thrills  the  reader  with  a  feeling 
akin  to  fear,  and  yet.  in  many  cases  arouses  a  sort 
of  sentimental  sympathy  for  the  underdog,  and  ad- 
miration for  the  man  with  nerve  enough  to  stake 
his  life  for  a  fling  at  the  fortune   wheel  of  liberty. 

c  County  jail  escapes  are  frequent   enough    to 

2  cause  but  little  comment   outside  of  the   particular 
^  community  effected,  but  an  escape  from  the  States' 
«  stronghold     well,    that  is  a  different    matter,    cor- 
2  responding  with  the  difference  between  night  and 
s  day.     While  it  is  true  that  most   escapes    from    all 
S  State  penitentiaries  are  made  bv  trusties  (men  who 
^  work  outside  the  walls  without  immediate   guards, 
and  simply  walk  away  from  the  job)  yet   occasion- 
ally a  prisoner  with  an  overgrown    bump  of  ingen- 
uity and  daring  will  carry  out  a  carefully  prepared 
scheme,  the  result  of  much    study    and    planning 
that  would  do  credit  to  an    army    general  or  a  Na- 
poleon of  finance.   And  even  if  captured  eventually, 
as  he  usually  is,  he  is  generally   accorded  a  certain 
amount  of  respect  by   other   inmates   and   officials 
alike.     Plowever  that  does    not   deter   the   culprit 


li910()8 


from  servinj?  an  extra  amount  of  time  for    his    ill- 
advised  caper. 

The  "walk-away,"  or  common  garden  va- 
riety of  escape  is  of  no  consequence  as  they  are 
usually  returned  in  a  few  hours  or  days  at  the 
most.  It  is  the  sensational  escapes,  brought  to  a 
climax  by  the  man  of  daring  and  courageous  ability, 
that  will  be  related  in  the  following  pages  which 
will  be  found  of  more  or  less  interest  to  all  read- 
ers. 

There  is  one  thing  noticeable  that  should  not 
pass  without  mention.  During  the  past  year,  up 
to  this  date,  (September  1921  to  September  1922) 
not  an  escape  or  walk-away  has  occurred  from  this 
prison-  a  most  remarkable  record  indeed,  when  it 
is  remembered  that  all  previous  years  have  given 
an  average  of  one  per  month.  This  prison  has  had 
many  wardens  and  other  officials  in  its  time,  but 
to  the  present  administration.  Warden  J.  W.  Lewis, 
Deputy  E.  C.  Halley,  and  Principal  Keeper  A.  L. 
Kendall  must  be  given  credit  for  a  record  that  is 
remarkable.  Gangs  working  outside  have  been 
just  as  numerous,  there  are  as  many  or  more 
trusties,  and  no  privileges  have  been  curtailed — 
opportunities  have  not  been  lacking,  yet  the  in- 
mates stick.  The  reason?  Well,  that  is  a  book  of 
itself,  the  title  of  which  might  read,  "Humane  vs. 
Brutal  Prisons." 


THE    TRACY-MERRILL 
ESCAPE 

N  THE  22nd  day  of  March.  1899,  Harry 
Tracy,  prison  number  4088,  and  David 
Merrill,  prison  number  4089,  were  re- 
ceived at  the  Oregon  State  Penitentiary  from 
Multnomah  County,  where  they  were  sentenced 
for  assault  and  robbery. 

Tracy  was  born  in  Wisconsin;  was  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  5  feet  8i  inches  in  height,  and 
had  previously  served  a  term  in  the  Utah  State 
Penitentiary. 

Merrill  was  a  native  of  Washington,  age  28, 
height  5  feet  81  inches,  with  a  previous  record  in 
the  Oregon  State  Penitentiary  as  number  2314. 

Tracy  was  under  sentence  of  twenty  years 
and  Merrill  thirteen  years.  Their  escape  was 
made  on  the  9th  day  of  June,  1902,  just  three 
years  and  77  days  after  their  arrival.  So  much 
for  prison  statistics. 


10 


Their  conduct  as  prisoners  was  bad  and  only 
a  short  time  after  their  receipt  they  began  to  cause 
the  prison  officials  constant  trouble,  and  are  said 
to  have  been  ironed  with  "Oregon  boots"  and 
closely  watched.  The  escape  which  took  place  on 
the  morning  of  the  date  named  followed  an  excur- 
sion to  Salem  on  the  day  before,  during  which  the 
party  or  parties  who  placed  the  guns  and  ammuni- 
tion in  the  moulding  room  are  supposed  to  have 
reached  Salem,  and  under  cover  of  darkness  scaled 
the  prison  walls  and  placed  them  where  they  were 
found  by  Tracy.  Only  someone  who  v^-as  familiar 
with  the  prison  and  knew  its  inside  workings  and 
Tracy's  place  in  the  moulding  room  could  have 
succeeded  in  escaping  the  guard  patrol  and 
have  carried  out  the  plans  so  well.  That  the 
escape  was  well  planned  is  evident.  Tracy  for 
some  time  prior  to  the  escape  had  been  studying  a 
map  of  Oregon  and  thoroughly  familiarized  him- 
self with  roads,  trails,  towns,  etc.,  on  the  route 
over  which  he  afterward  passed.  That  he  had  been 
expecting  outside  help  for  sometime  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  for  several  weeks  prior  to  that 
memorable  morning  he  would,  upon  entering  the 
moulding  room  to  begin  work,  hasten  at  once  to 
his  floor  and  search  among  the  boxes  and  under 
the  dust  paper    with    which  it  was   supplied.      Al- 


•^^^^^'^^m^^ 


11 


though  no  particular  attention  was  paid  to  his  ac- 
tions at  the  time,  after  his  escape  they  were  re- 
called and  spoken  of  by  prisoners  who  worked  on 
adjoining:  floors.  Tracy  and  his  associate  in  the 
escape,  Merrill,  were  cellmates  and  were  also  em- 
ployed on  the  same  floor.  It  is  supposed  they  in- 
duced some  ex-convict  with  whom  they  had  been 
familiar,  to  return  and  bring  the  firearms  with 
which  they  made  their  escape.  A  year  or  two 
later  it  developed  that  a  former  convict,  Charles 
Monte  by  name,  who  served  time  with  Tracy  and 
Merrill,  and  was  quite  intimate  with  them,  had 
made  the  boast  that  he  was  the  party  who  had 
scaled  the  walls  and  placed  guns  and  amunition  in 
a  place  previously  designated  where  they  would 
eventually  be  found  by  the  right  parties.  Monte 
was  arrested,  tried  and  convicted,  and  on  July  15, 
1905,  was  sentenced  to  life  imprisonment.  His 
boasting  nature  and  desire  to  show  off"  as  a  "bad 
man  from  Bitter  Creek,"  fell  to  zero  when  a  life 
jolt  was  handed  him,  and  at  the  time  much  doubt 
was  expressed  as  to  his  ability  and  nerve  to  pull 
off  such  a  stunt.  To  know  the  man,  nothing  but 
a  boastful,  whining  mongrel,  was  to  immediately 
become  convinced  that  he  was  uttei'ly  incapable  of 
such  a  deed  of  daring.  However  he  was  kept  in 
confinement  over  nine    years    before    he    was    re- 


12 


leased,  a  sadder  but  not  much  wiser  man. 

To  describe  the  escape  by  all  the  reports 
which  have  been  given  by  "eye  witnesses"  would 
be  a  big  task.  What  follows  is  about  as  near  the 
truth  as  is  possible  to  get  it  from  the  maze  of  con- 
flicting stories  told: 

Prisoners  were  counted  as  they  lined  up  to 
march  to  the  shops.  The  count  had  just  been 
made.  Tracy  and  Merrill  were  at  or  near  the  head 
of  the  line  which  contained  something  like  150  pris- 
oners. As  they  entered  the  moulding  room  Tracy 
went  at  once  to  his  floor,  as  was  his  custom,  and 
searching  there  found  the  guns.  Taking  up  a  SO- 
SO  Winchester  he  threw  the  lever  and  raising  it  to 
his  shoulder  fired  at  and  killed  the  moulding  room 
guard.  Mr.  Ferrell,  who  was  standing  with  his 
back  towards  him  just  a  short  distance  away.  Mr. 
Ferrell,  who  was  pacing,  as  was  his  custom,  on 
the  walk  leading  to  the  other  departments,  lived 
only  an  instant  after  being  shot.  Tracy,  reloading 
his  rifle,  is  said  to  have  went  toward  the  murdered 
gaurd  far  enough  to  note  the  efi'ect  of  his  shot,  and 
then,  with  Merrill,  who  had  secured  the  other  rifle 
to  assist  him,  he  ordered  the  other  prisoners  into 
an  opposite  part  of  the  moulding  room.  He  then 
went  to  a  window  facing  on  the  front  yard  and  be- 
gan firing  at  the  guards  in  post  number  one.  After 


13 


firing  several  shots  he  and  Merrill  made  their  way 
through  into  the  front  shops.  After  passing 
through  an  alleyway  leading  into  the  adjoining 
department  they  were  encountered  by  a  prisoner 
who  was  shot,  it  is  said,  in  trying  to  wrest  the  gun 
from  Tracy's  hands.  After  this  shooting  they 
made  their  way  through  the  front  shop  and  secur- 
ing a  ladder  in  the  carpenter  shop,  came  out  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  shops  and  facing  the  west 
"all.  As  they  emerged  from  the  building,  screened 
by  piles  of  old  boxes  then  standing  there,  and 
which  served  as  a  shield,  they  began  firing  at  the 
guards  occupying  towers  commanding  a  view  of 
that  portion  of  the  yard.  Mr.  Tiffany,  who  had 
been  occupying  the  northeast  corner  tower,  had 
been  transferred  to  a  position  as  turnkey  in  the 
warden's  office,  was  present  on  the  wall  explain- 
ing guard  duties  to  his  successor,  Mr.  Ross,  when 
the  shooting  began.  As  the  outlaws  emerged  from 
the  shop  and  commenced  to  fire  from  their  hidden 
position  behind  the  boxes,  Mr.  Ross,  to  whom 
he  had  handed  his  rifle,  was  struck  by  one 
of  the  shots  and  knocked  from  the  wall  path  on 
which  the  guards  patrol.  Mr. Tiffany,  to  secure 
the  gun  which  had  fallen  to  the  ground,  jumped 
from  the  wall,  intending  to  secure  it  and  return  to 
guard  that  portion  of  the    wall.       In  the  meantime 


14 


Tracy  and  Merrill,  supposing-  most  likely  that  they 
had  killed  or  badly  wounded  the  guards  in  the  va- 
cant toA^er,  but  unable  to  sihnce  the  rifle  fire  from 
the  tower  on  their  right,  turned  to  the  left,  and 
still  keeping  behind  the  boxes  which  screened 
them  made  their  way  towards  the  north  wall.  Oc- 
casionally the  guard  would  see  them  as  they  pas- 
sed through  an  opening,  but  although  he  fired 
several  shots  and  stood  bravely  on  the  wall,  ex- 
posed to  a  dangerous  rifle  fire,  could  not  get  a  suc- 
cessful shot. 

After  reaching  the  end  of  the  shop  buildings 
the  outlaws  turned,  and  still  protected  by  a  cor- 
ner of  the  building  around  which  they  passed, 
crossed  to  the  wall.  As  they  reached  it,  placing 
the  ladder,  one  of  them  stood  guard  while  the 
other  passed  to  the  top  of  the  wall.  In  nearing 
the  wall  they  had  come  out  in  plain  sight  of  the 
guard  occupying  the  northwest  corner  tower. 
This  guard,  Mr,  Jones,  who  was  killed,  looking 
for  the  escapes  els  where  and  guarding  the  front 
portion  of  the  prison  yard,  was  watching  in  a 
partly  exposed  position,  and  is  said  to  have  been 
shot  from  the  wall. 

Reaching  the  ground  on  the  outside  of  the 
enclosure,  Tracy  and  Merrill  then  turned  and  fol- 
lowing along  the  wall  in  an  easterly  direction  turn- 


15 


ed  the  corner  and  came  upon  two  guards  who 
were  then  making  their  way  back  to  remount  the 
wall.  Before  they  were  seen  they  had  them  cov- 
ered and  ordered  them  to  throw  up  their  hands 
and  march.  Using  them  as  a  shield  to  protect 
them  from  the  rifle  fire  of  the  guard  in  the  tower 
they  had  been  unable  to  silence,  and  within  range 
of  which  they  had  again  come,  they  passed  to  a 
position  of  safety  and  then  ordered  the  guards  to 
return.  As  they  started  to  do  so  Mr.  Tiffany  was 
shot  in  the  back  and  killed  in  the  same  cold-blood- 
ed manner  as  was  Mr.  Ferrell.  The  entire  break, 
from  the  time  the  first  shot  was  fired,  to  Mr.  Tif- 
fany's death  did  not  consume  more  than  ffve  min- 
utes. 

The  warden  and  his  assistant,  who  often 
stood  discussing  the  day's  procedure  and  details  of 
prison  management  for  some  time  after  the  line 
had  passed,  were  yet  standing  where  they  had 
stood  to  count  when  the  first  firing  began. 

Hastening  at  once  to  the  house,  the  warden 
gave  the  alarm.  Guards  were  armed  and  sent  out 
and  our  then  deputy  warden,  Mr.  Ad  Dilly,  armed 
with  a  Winchester  rifle,  ran  the  full  length  of  that 
]jortion  of  the  prison  wall  leading  from  the  prison 
buildings  to  the  tower  in  which  guard  Jones,  whom 
he  had  seen  fall,  lay  dying.       The  escape  by    this 


A^, 


k; 


time  had  been  effected  and  the  outlaws  were  gone. 
When  particulars  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  the 
moulding  room  had  been  obtained  (it  is  said  by 
telephone  from  the  office)  a  prisoner  carrying  a  flag 
of  truce  was  sent  from  the  house  to  the  shops  to 
give  medical  attention,  and  to  also  lead  the  pris- 
oners back  to  the  house,  where  they  were  counted 
and  locked  in  their  cells. 

The  wounded  prisoner,  almost  dead  from 
the  loss  of  blood,  was  carried  hastily  to  tbe  hos- 
pital, where  measures  were  taken  to  arrest  the 
flow.  Afterwards  one  of  his  legs,  badly  shattered 
by  the  discharging  rifle  in  his  encounter  with 
Tracy,  was  amputated  above  the  knee,  and  still 
later  he  was  pardoned. 

Tracy,  who  was  a  dead  shot  in  the  exact 
meaning  of  the  word,  set  the  whole  country  by  the 
ears,  until  it  was  "Tracy  mad."  With  the  coolest 
kind  of  dime-novel  daring  he  escaped  time  and 
again  from  apparently  absolute  traps,  only  to  show 
up  a  few  days  later  after  some  new  adventure  and 
repeat  the  performance. 

His  trail  led  through  Salem,  Portland  and 
Seattle,  finaly  running  eastward  toward  the  Hole- 
in-the-Wall    country,  which  he  never  reached. 

All  along  the  way  he  spread  terror  among 
the  country-folk,  often    walking    into  a  farmhouse 


17 


behind  a  gun  and  demanding  food,  and  in  one  in- 
stance icidnaping  a  swede  farmhand  whom  he  held 
for  several  days  as  a  personal  servant. 

His  duel  with  Merrrill  and  the  slaughter  of 
three  men  in  battle  with  peace  officers  and  news- 
paper men  near  Seattle  were  the  great  outstanding 
features  of  the  chase.  About  the  latter  end  of 
June  he  and  Merrill,  then  together  in  the  State  of 
Washington,  had  a  quarrel  of  some  kind  and 
agreed  to  fight  out  their  diff'erences  with  rifies. 
They -were  to  walk  a  certain  distance  apart  and 
then  turn  and  fire.  Tracy  did  not  keep  faith  with 
Merrill,  and  turning,  shot  and  killed  him  as  he  was 
walking  away.  However,  when  the  body  supposed 
to  be  Merrill's,  whom,  report  said,  Tracy  had  slain, 
was  brought  back  to  prison,  many  of  the  men  see- 
ing it,  were  quite  positive  that  the  remains  were 
thoseof  some  one  else  than  Merrill.  "Bunko  Kelly, " 
who  had  charge  of  the  bath  room  for  many  years, 
and  who  had  seen  Merrill  stripped  many  times, 
tried  to  point  out  the  error,  but  the  body  was  in 
such  decomposition  that  it  was  extremely  difficult 
to  make  positive  identification.  The  question  as 
to  the  actual  killing  of  Merrill  by  Tracy  will,  in  all 
probabilities,  remain  forever  unansv/ered.  How- 
ever, this  is  getting  ahead  of  the  story. 


18 


A  posse  of  forty  officers  was  formed  and  al- 
most immediately  the  word  was  sent  out  that  the 
escaped  convicts  were  trapped  in  a  wooded  place 
halfway  between  Salem  and  the  reform  school. 
But  not  so.  That  night,  while  officers  watched  the 
woods,  the  convicts  appeared  in  Salem,  stopped  J. 
W.  Roberts  on  the  street,  took  his  clothing-  and 
sent  him  on  in  his  underwear,  stole  a  team  and 
drove  away.  Bloodhounds  were  rushed  from 
the  penitentiary  at  Walla  Walla,  Washington. 
They  came  and  hounded,  but  did  no  greater  ser- 
vice than  to  encourage  the  morale  of  the  posses 
with  strenuous  baying. 

The  following  day  this  word  came  from  Ger- 
vais.  Ore.."  "Tracy  and  Merrill  were  observed  in 
a  wheat  field  of  Ellis  Young  near  the  Samuel 
Brown  place  at  2:45  this  afternoon.  Company  D 
of  Woodburn  has  arrived.  The  guards  are  closing 
in.     The  crisis  is  at  hand.' 

But  not  so.  The  next  day  in  the  early  morn- 
ing the  convicts  appeared  at  the  cabin  of  August 
King,  a  woodcutter,  living  near  Gervais.  They 
walked  in  and  took  some  bread.  Tracy  didn't  eat 
much.  He  rolled  a  cigarette  then  threw  it  away 
in  disgust. 

This,  of  course,  gave  a  new  clew,  and  a 
posse  of  200  started  on  the   trail.      Meantime   the 


m^ 


19 


convicts  had  doubled  back,  and  robbed  Dr.  C.  S. 
White  of  a  coat  and  a  horse  and  bug-pfy  and  disap- 
peared again. 

The  next  seen  of  them  vvas  near  Gervais 
when  Charles  Tuh,  a  guard,  saw  them  climb  over 
a  fence.  He  shot  and  missed.  The  men  then  turn- 
ed up  for  breakfast  at  the  home  of  A.  Akers, 
near  Monitor,  and  again  dropped  from  sight. 

June  13  -The  chase  was  simply  a  blind 
search, 

June  14     The  posses  were  called  off. 

June  16  -Tracy  and  Merrill  passed  through 
Portland,  probably  on  a  trolley,  held  up  three  men 
on  the  south  bank  of  the  Columbia,  made  them 
furnish  dinner  and  ferry  them  across  the  river  to 
the  Washington  side.  There  they  held  up  another 
farmer,  took  the  clothes  off  the  back  of  a  second 
rancher  whom  they  bound  and  gagged  and  fled  in- 
to the  timber  back  of  Vancouver. 

June  17  -In  a  midnight  fight  with  Bert  Bies- 
ecker  and  Lon  Davis,  deputy  sheriffs,  Biesecker 
took  a  bullet  through  the  coat  sleeve.  It  was  al- 
most the  only  time  Tracy  ever  fired  and  missed. 

June  18— They  appeared  at  LaCenter. 

June  19  They  appeared  at  a  farm  house 
three  miles  from  La  Center,    demanded    food    and 


20 


disappeared  again.  About  this  time  the  convicts 
were  forced  to  give  way  in  public  interest  to  King 
Edward  VII  of  England,  whose  illness,  it  was 
feared,  might  prevent  his  coronation.  The  king 
got  well. 

July  3— Tracy  appeared  alone  near  Lake 
Washington.  He  told  persons  whom  he  forced  to 
serve  him  with  food  that  he  had  killed  Merrill 
near  Chehalis. 

"I  was  tired  of  him,  anyhow,"  he  said. 

The  same  day  Tracy  ran  into  a  posse  that 
included  Deputy  Sheriffs  Raymond,  Bower  and 
Williams,  Karl  Anderson,  then  a  reporter  for  the 
Seattle  Times,  now  assistant  managing  editor  of 
the  San  Francisco  Chronicle,  and  Louis  B.  Sefrit, 
another  newspaperman.  The  clash  occurred  two 
miles  from  Bothel. 

Tracy  killed  Raymond,  Bower  and  Williams. 

Anderson  fired  three  shots  at  Tracy    and    himself 

escaped    death   by  a  miracle.       The    governor    of 

Washington  called  out  the   national    guard.      Two 

days   later   Tracy    forced  a  Japanese  to  ferry   him 

across  from  Port  Madison  and  disappeared  on  a 
nautical  junket  on  the  sound.  On  Bainbridge  Is- 
land he  kidnapped  John  Anderson,  a  Swede  farm 
hand  and  took  him  along  as  his   personal   flunkey. 


^^^^^^ 


21 


July  9— Tracy  and  Merrill  were  both  report- 
ed surrounded  at  Orollia.  althoup:h  Merrill  was 
dead  at  the  time.  Again  capture  seemed  certain. 
But  not  so.  The  next  day  Tracy  made  a  farmer 
named  Johnson  go  to  Tacoma  and  buy  a  revolver 
and  some  ammunition  for  him  on  threat  of  murder- 
ing Johnson's  whole  family. 

July  11— Tracy  broke  through  another  cor- 
don after  a  hot  but  bloodless  fight  near  Covington. 
Hounds  found  a  new  trail.  It  was  reported  that 
Merrill  had  shown  up  atRavensdaleand  that  Tracy 
was  organizing  a  gang  which  he  intended  to  head  as 
a  second  Jesse  James. 

July  14— Tracy  had  outwitted  his  pursuers 
again  and  lost  himself.  A  reward  of  $6,000  was 
offered. 

July  15 — Merrill's  body  was  found  near 
Chehalis  by  a  woman  and  her  son  picking  black- 
berries. 

July  17— Tracy  was  again  reported  in  a  trap 
— and  out  again. 

Then  for  a  time  Tracy  dropped  out  of  the 
public  eye  until  the  nnatter  of  the  Fitzsimmons- 
Jeffries  fight  had  been  settled. 

July  23  Tracy,  looking  fresh  and  rested, 
ate  breakfast  in  the  vicinity   of   Palmer.      It   was 


22 


the  first  seen  of  him  in  days.       Apparently  he  had 
been  resting:  and  taking  in  the   news  of  the   fight. 

August  1 — Tracy  crossed  the  Columbia  into 
Eastern  Washington  carrying  four  guns  and  200 
rounds  of  ammunition.  He  was  headed  for  the 
Hole-in-the-Wall. 

August  5  C.  V.  Drazon,  a  farmer  living 
near  Odessa,  Wash.,  found  this  note  pinned  on  his 
door:  "To  whom  it  may  concern  Tell  Mr.  Cudi- 
hee  (the  sheriff  of  King  County,  Washington),  to 
take  a  tumble  and  let  me  alone  or  I  will  fix  him 
plenty.  I  will  be  on  my  way  to  Wyoming.  If 
your  horses  are  good  would  swap  with  you. 
Thanks  for  a  cool  drink." 

The  next  day  was  the  last  for  Tracy.  But 
they  did  not  take  him  alive.  The  first  brief  flash 
from  Spokane  read:  "Tracy's  race  is  run.  The 
notorious  outlaw  killed  himself  last  night  by  shoot- 
ing with  a  revolver." 

He  had  been  wounded  in  the  right  leg  be- 
tween the  knee  and  thigh  in  a  battle  with  a  posse 
under  Sheriff  Gardner.  He  committed  suicide 
twenty  minutes  after  being  wounded.  His  body 
was  found  at  daybreak  that  morning  in  a  wheat- 
field,  the  revolver  tightlv  grasped  in  his  right 
hand." 


^: 


Today  ye  erect  your  scaffolds, 
Where  tomorrow  monuments  rise; 
Today  with  the  rabble  ye  crucify, 
Whom  tomorrow  ye  canonize. 

— Frank  D.  Blue. 


CHARLES  DROCKER  RIDES  OUT 


'N    MAY,    1915,    Charles    Drocker,    a   ye^g, 
(safe  blower)  quietly  assumed  his  place  in 
the  prison  line,  having  been  sent  up  for   a 
term  of  ten  years  from  Multnomah  county. 

The  word  "quiet"  is  used  advisedly,  as  he 
was  the  most  unostentatious  prisoner  ever  inside 
prison  walls.  Almost  his  sole  companion  was 
another  yegg,  Frank  Wagner,  with  whom  he  occa- 
sionally had  a  word  or  two.  The  old  "saw"  that 
"still  waters  run  deep, "  was  realized  by  the  of- 
ficials in  the  case  of  Drocker,  to  such  an  extent 
that  he  and  Wagner  were  kept  in  the  dungeon  at 
intermittent  periods,  seemingly  more  for  safe 
keeping  than  anything  else,  as  the  trumped  up 
charges  of  misconduct  were  more  of  an  excuse 
than  reality.  However  subsequent  events  proved 
the  officials  were  laboring  under  no  false  theories 
so  far  as  both  of  these  men  were  concerned,  but 
they  could  not  go  on  forever  putting  men  in  the 
dungeon    without    more    reason    than    mere  sus- 


25 


picion,    so   they   were   released   in  the  yard.     But 
Urocker  did  not  tarry  for  lon^. 

One  day  in  June,  1916,  Drocker  failed  to  show 
up  for  the  noon  count,  and  instinctively  the  of- 
ficials knew  that  Charley  had  taken  short  leave. 
But  how  could  a  man  make  an  escape  from  a  prison 
yard  in  broad  daylight  with  five  hundred  convicts 
swarming  about?    That  was  a  genuine  mystery. 

Search  was  immediately  instituted  by  the 
full  official  force,  and  not  a  hole  was  there  left  un- 
explored: not  a  board  that  was  left  undisturbed— 
but  no  Drocker.  For  two  days  and  nights  the 
search  continued  without  surcease,  but  to  no  avail. 
Finally  it  became  noised  about  that  he  had  crawled 
underneath  an  automobile  truck  which  was  unload- 
ing at  the  kitchen  door,  and  went  out  with  the  ma- 
chine right  from  under  the  nose  of  a  guard  not  ten 
feet  away,  dropping  to  the  ground  outside,  no  one 
knows  where.  He  was  not  heard  from  until  a  year 
or  two  later  when  word  came  from  France  that  he 
had  received  numerous  wounds  and  as  many  dec- 
orations for  bravery  in  the  late  war. 

One  curious  feature  of  the  foregoing  escape 
that  can  be  fully  appreciated  only  by  prison  in- 
mates, is,  that  more  than  a  score  of  men  in  the 
yard  claimed  to  have  seen  Drocker   go   under   the 


-e«^^^S3B8»».. 


26 


automobile.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  one  or  more 
of  that  number  would  have  "snitched,"  (to  use  a 
prison  term,  meaning  informed  on  him)  it  is  a  fore- 
gone conclusion  that  Charley  got  away  with  not 
more  than  one,  possibly  two,  witnesses.  When  a 
man  starts  in  telling  his  friends  goodbye  before 
leaving,  he  finds  himself  forestalled  by  the  officials, 
for  some  one  is  sure  to  scatter  the  news. 


-G^gg^^^^^d*. 


Run  along,  I've  no  time  for  a  quitter; 
I  have  troubles  enough  and  to  spare, 
And  the  prizes  of  life  only  go  to  the  man 
Who  is  ready  to  do  and  dare. 

— No.  3117,  Auburn  Prison 


WHEN   I  GO   OUT 

0  be  to  me  tender,  leaves  that  wait  outside 

This  sullen  wall,  and  keep  inviolate. 
Until  I  come  to  you  with  love-dumb  lips 

From  out  of  this  dull  tenement  of  hate; 

Out  of  the  fresh  breathing  of  the  earth 
To  draw  allayment  of  my  rasping  fear. 

My  woundings  and  my  frettings,  till  my  mind 
Is  soothed  by  winds  that  draw  like  nurses  near, 

To  tend  me  on  my  bed  of  living  grass 
And  all  the  hush  of  spring  shall  by  my  cover; 

The  hills  shall  stand  as  guards  about  my  peace; 
And  the  audacious  sun  shall  be  my  lover  

When  I  go  out  0  roads  of  all  the  world! 

0  Beauty,  fields  and  cities,  do  not  fail! 
Wait,  strong  friends,  my  coming — let  my  heart 

Once  more  drink  glory  on  a  careless  trail! 

— Charles  Ashley,  Leavenworth  Prison. 


*: 


CLARKE  GOES  OVER  THE  TOP 


lEORGE  CLARKE  was  another  of  those 
quiet,  unobtrusive  men  who  slip  along: 
throug-h  life  without  attracting:  much  at- 
tention, except  when  caught  in  the  act.  Of  pow- 
erful build,  even  disposition  and  courageous  nature, 
Clarke  was  ready  at  all  times  to  meet  most  any 
emergency  that  might  arise. 

During  the  rainy  spring  of  1916,  George  was 
employed  with  quite  a  large  gang  of  men  who  were 
clearing  land  outside  the  walls  under  gun  guard. 
This  gang  were  all  housed  on  a  lower  tier  of  the 
south  cell  house,  and  at  night  on  coming  in  from 
work,  were  allowed  to  hang  their  wet  clothing  on 
the  steam  radiators  along  the  wall  across  the  cor- 
ridor from  their  cells.  At  night  only  two  guards 
are  on  duty  in  the  cell  wings,  and  as  the  regular 
counts  were  made,  it  was  an  easy  matter  to  keep 
track  of  the  position  of  the  guards. 

One  Sunday  afternoon  Clarke  asked  permis- 
sion to  remain  in  his  cell  instead  of  going  out  in 
the  yard  with  the  other  prisoners.     During  his  lay- 


30 


in  he  sawed  the  bars  of  his  cell  door  from  the  in- 
side until  they  almost  severed.  Then  tearing-  up 
a  blanket  or  two,  he  made  quite  a  length  of  strong 
rope,  after  which  he  stretched  himself  on  his  bunk 
for  a  quiet  nap,  knowing  he  would  have  no  time 
for  sleep  during-  the  succeeding  forty-eight  hours. 
In  the  meantime  during  the  preceeding  week,  and 
shielded  by  clothing  hanging  on  the  radiators,  he 
had,  a  little  at  a  time,  succeeded  in  severing  one  of 
the  outside  window  bars,  smearing  the  fresh  cut 
with  tobacco  juice  and  dirt  so  that  it  would  not  be 
readily  noticed  during  the  day. 

After  the  twelve  o'clock  count  on  this  partic- 
ular night,  Clarke  arose  and  pressing  his  face  close 
to  the  bars  of  his  cell  door,  had  no  difficulty  in  de- 
termining the  exact  time  the  guards  were  making 
the  count  in  the  north  wing.  Then  he  got  busy. 
Grasping  the  bars,  sawed  at  one  end,  with  his  pow- 
erful hands,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  bending  them 
to  one  side  enough  to  admit  his  passage  through  into 
the  corridor.  Taking  his  blanket  rope  with  him, 
he  sprang  across  the  corridor  to  the  window  where 

he  simply  crushed  through  the  weakened  bars  as 
though  they  were  so  much  straw,  dropping  outside 
to  a  pile  of  wood.  Racing  some  fifty  feet  along 
the  top  of  this  wood  pile,  he  brought  up  at  an  angle 
of  the  prison  proper  and  the  auditorium. 


31 


Climbing  the  window  bars,  he  reached  the 
roof  of  the  auditorium  and  from  there  to  the  roof 
of  the  cell  house  was  but  a  short  boost.  Losing 
not  a  second  of  time  he  fastened  one  end  of  the 
rope  around  a  certain  ventilator  stack,  which  he 
had  long  since  located  as  standing  in  a  direct  line 
with  an  outside  window,  glanced  down  just  in  time 
to  see  the  front  yard  guard  making  his  way  for 
shelter,  threw  the  loose  rope  end  over  the  parapet 
and  slid  down  to  the  window  which  the  rope  just 
barely  touched. 

Grasping  the  window  bars  he  hastily  climbed 
down,  his  body  showing  in  full  view  against  the 
bright  lights  within,  to  any  one  who  might  have 
happened  to  look  that  way.  As  it  was,  no  one  saw 
the  huge  spider  speeding  to  the  soft  ground  below, 
and  in  less  than  five  minutes  from  the  time  Clarke 
left  his  cell  he  was  walking  up  the  steps  to  a  guard 
tower  that  was  vacant  at  night,  through  which  he 
noiselessly  sped  to  the  narrow  patrol  walk  outside 
the  walls  from  which  he  dropped  to  the  ground  — 
and  freedom. 

Frantic   search    was   made    for  the  missing 

prisoner  some  ninety  minutes  later,  but  by  the 
time  the  alarm  was  given  and  the  posse  started, 
Clark  was  "riding  the  rods"  of  a  fast  freight 
speeding    south,  which    had    been  included  in  liis 


32 


itinerary  and  timed  to  a  nicety. 

His  liberty  was  of  few  months  enjoyment, 
however,  as  he  was  later  picked  up  in  a  general 
roundup  of  a  certain  district  by  the  police  of  Los 
Angeles,  identified  by  his  finger  prints,  and  re- 
turned to  Oregon  to  finish  his  sentence. 


-^^^^0^^m^^ 


33 


Alone  by  the  grated  window, 
I  mused  in  the  after-glow; 
The  life  I  had  lived  unfolded— 
I  dwelt  in  the  long  ago; 
Saw  only  blight  and  sorrow% 
Roamed  only  the  land  of  tears, 
And  never  a  golden  moment  came 
Out  of  the  buried  years. 

Like  unto  a  cloud  it  faded. 
Yet  sadder  it  left  me  then; 
I  had  traversed  the  vale  of  shadows 
In  my  search  for  souls  of  men; 
Had  bowed  at  the  crumble  ruins 
Of  my  hopes  and  fears  that  day, 
As  I  gazed  at  the  dying  colors 
On  the  rim  of  the  far  away. 

-  By  a  Woman  Prisoner. 


ESCAPE  OF  FREDDY  WEAVER 


jURING  May,  1911,  Fred  Weaver  was  sent 
up  from    Wasco    County  on  a  sentence   of 

^five  to  fifteen  years  for  the  crime  of  burg- 
lary. Subsequent  events  proved  that  Fred  was  a 
good  burglar  all  right  enough,  but  like  most  other 
"good"  burglars,  he  was  not  good  enough  to 
burgle  and  keep  out  of  jail  at  the  same  time. 

Fred  was  employed  in  the  bakery  depart- 
ment which  at  that  time  was  located  in  the  first 
story  of  the  prison  addition  in  which  was  located 
the  mess  hall  on  the  second  floor  and  the  hospital 
on  the  third.  After  about  six  months  of  toil,  Fred 
grew  tired  of  prison  monotony  and  decided  to  take 
a  much  needed  vacation,  hitting  upon  a  plan  that 
was  both  unique  and  successful. 

Fred's  working  hours  for  each  day  began  at 
4:30  a.  m.,  and  in  order  to  get  the  necessary 
amount  of  sleep  he  formed  the  habit  of  going  to 
his  cell  earlier  than  others   of   the   kitchen    force, 


35 


who  all  celled  on  the  same  tier.  When  the  early 
evening-  count  was  taken  at  seven  o'clock,  the 
guards  never  disturbed  the  silent  form  huddled 
under  the  blankets  in  cell  274,  as  they  knew  the 
man  was  an  early  riser  and  needed  rest.  Fred, 
taking  advantage  of  this  fact,  used  it  as  his  "ace 
in  the  hole." 

One  Sunday  afternoon,  his  cell  partner  hav- 
ing previously  gone  to  the  hospital  because  of  a 
fancied  illness,  and  to  avoid  questions  later,  Fred 
fixed  up  a  dummy  under  his  blankels  that  looked 
true  to  life  from  the  corridor,  and  then  returned  to 
his  work  in  the  bakery.  When  the  kitchen  help 
straggled  to  their  cells  after  six  o'clock,  Freddy 
hid  out  in  the  basement.  At  seven  o'clock,  the 
guard  going  through  all  departments  to  see  that 
everything  was  alright,  failed  to  spot  Fred  behind 
a  stack  of  flour  brrrels,  and  another  guard  taking 
the  seven  o'clock  cell  house  count  failed  to  distin- 
guish the  dummy  from  a  real  person,  so  neatly 
was  it  made  up  in  the  bunk. 

That  was  all  that  was  necessary  to  Fred,- the 
rest  was  easy.  After  waiting  but  a  short  while  to 
assure  himself  that  the  dummy  had  been  properly 
counted,  Fred  boldly  and  industriously  set  to  work 
sawing  his  way  out.  After  getting  through  the 
first  set  of  bars    he   found    himself   in    the   prison 


»^  .        \..^2f&a>' 


36 


yard,  a  long  way  from  liberty.  But  Fred  had  that 
all  figured  out  beforehand,  so  he  lost  no  time  in 
getting  to  work  on  another  set  of  window  bars 
leading  into  the  basement  of  the  prison  proper, 
this  time  breaking  into  prison  instead  of  out. 
Crossing  the  basement  after  breaking  a  lock  on  an 
intervening  door,  being  small  of  stature,  he 
squeezed  through  another  set  of  bars  which  he  had 
pried  apart  with  a  stick  of  wood.  This  let  him  out 
into  the  front  yard  and  after  waiting  for  the  yard 
guard  to  make  his  regular  rounds,  Fred  calmly 
walked  over  to  a  stairway  leading  to  the  but  re- 
cently vacated  guard  tower,  softly  ascended, 
walked  through  the  tower  and  out  on  the  runway, 
from  which  he  dropoed  to  the  ground  and  liberty. 
Oh,  yes:  the  inside  guards  counted  the  afore- 
mentioned dummy  all  night  and  were  "ranked" 
for  it  the  following  day,  but  that  did  not  bring 
Freddy  into  the  fold.  However,  he  was  captured 
in  Seattle  a  few  months  later  and  is  still  "doing 
time,"  for  immediately  upon  the  expiration  of  his 
sentence  he  returned  to  his  old  trade  of  burglar, 
was  apprehended  in  a  short  time  and  given  another 
sentence  of  eight  years. 


% 


'THREE-MINUTE"  WAGNER 


'N  THE  FALL  of  1914,  two  German  boys, 
Frank  Warner  and  Carl  Weine^al,  made 
an  escape  from  their  cell  to  the  outside  by 
digging  a  tunnel  downward  in  the  heart  of  a  brick 
wall. 

Both  of  these  boys  worked  in  the  bakery  and 
celled  together  on  a  lower  tier  of  brick-walled  cells. 
Incidentally,  a  part  of  their  get-away  scheme  con- 
sisted of  keeping  their  cell  spick  and  span  and 
highly  decorated  with  penants,  fancy  doilies  and 
pillow  tops,  and  as  visitors  were  shown  along  these 
cells  every  day  the  decorative  scheme  of  all  cells 
in  that  particular  tier  were  never  disturbed. 

F'or  many  weeks  Frank  and  Carl  kept  digging, 
a  bit  at  a  time,  starting  in  on  the  brick  wall  about 
two  feec  up  from  the  floor  and  near  the  cell  door. 
They  made  a  hole  sufficiently  large  to  admit  egress, 
which  necessitated  leaving  but  one  row  of  bricks 
between  them  and  the  corridor.  It  was  a  tight 
squeeze  but  they  made  it    in    due    time,    carrying 


21)10()K 


38 


away  the  loose  brick  and  mortar  in  their  pockets, 
ceil  buckets  and  newspapers.  During  the  day  they 
stretched  a  fancy  doily  or  two  tightly  across  the 
hole,  so  when  cells  were  officially  inspected  no  one 
thought  of  pulling  down  this  highly  ornamental 
(and  useful)  object. 

After  weeks  of  digging  they  succeeded  in  boring 
a  hole  straight  down  the  inside  of  the  brick  wall  to 
the  basement  below,  and  now  everything  was  all 
ready  for  the  break.  The  final  night  arrived  and 
they  started  their  crawl  for  freedom.  In  dropping 
from  the  ceiling  to  the  concrete  floor  of  the  base- 
ment one  of  the  boys  fell  on  his  head,  which  put 
him  out  of  commission  for  some  time,  while  the 
other  one  twisted  one  leg  so  that  walking  was  very 
painful.  Not  a  bright  start  by  any  means,  but 
they  were  forced  to  go  on,  as  they  could  not  reach 
the  hole  and  crawl  back.  And  then,  too,  the  hole 
in  the  basement  ceiling  would  be  discovered  the 
first  thing  in  the  morning;  go  they  must,  even 
though  in  their  crippled  condition,  capture  was  al- 
most a  certainty. 

Slowly  they  worked  out  through  bars  that 
had  been  pried  loose,  into  the  front  yard,  slipping 
across  to  steps  leading  to  the  patrol  walk  along  the 
wall  from  which  they  dropped  to  the  ground  out- 
side.    At  this  inopportune  time  a  mongrel  dog  set 


-«^^^^^^^©^ 


39 


up  a  ki-yi  that  attracted  the  attention  of  a  guard 
in  a  near-by  tower,  who  started  shooting:  and  set 
off  the  general  alarm.  The  boys  made  a  run  for  it 
but  were  heavily  handicapped  with  their  crippled 
bodies,  but  at  that  they  succeeded  in  evading  the 
pursuers  for  two  days  before  they  were  picked  up 
and  returned  to  prison.  On  release  at  the  expira- 
tion of  his  sentence,  Weinegal  was  deported,  but 
Wagner  remained  in  this  country. 

Frank  Wagner  was  probably  the  most  cap- 
able safe-blower  on  the  Pacific  coast.  "Three- 
Minute- Wagner"  he  was  called,  as  he  required  but 
three  minutes  or  less  to  open  most  any  safe  in  the 
country.  His  method  was  a  secret  which  he  never 
divulged,  but  many  safes  throughout  the  country 
bore  mute  evidence  that  he  thoroughly  understood 
his  business,  and  time  and  again  he  has  proven 
that  his  sobriquet  was  no  idle  boast. 

On  release  from  prison  Frank  immediately 
"touched  off"  a  safe  he  had  had  in  mind  for  some 
time,  but  in  six  months  and  two  days  he  was  again 
returned  to  prison,  this  time  under  a  sentence  of 
forty  years. 

Less  than  a  year  later  he  made  another  es- 
cape, but  this  time  right  from  under  gun  guard 
while  working  in  the  brick  yard  and  in  broad  day- 
light.    He  skipped  through  into  a  brush  lined  creek 


-«<3«^!^  #SSK®»»^ 


40 


close  by  and  traveled  with  all  speed  possible  until 
he  reached  the  wooded  hills  some  five  miles  distant, 
where  all  trace  of  him  faded  out.  However,  some 
three  months  later,  the  inevitable  woman  proved 
his  undoing.  Word  was  received  by  the  officials 
that  he  was  at  a  certain  house  in  Clatsop  county 
and  a  small  posse  was  quietly  formed  who  pro- 
ceeded to  the  place  designated  without  arousing 
supicion.  Surrounding  the  house,  Wagner  was 
called,  and  he  came  out  shooting,  but  a  well  di- 
rected bullet  brought  to  earth  this  outlaw,  who, 
had  he  used  his  shrewd  and  clever  brain  along  le- 
gitimate lines,  would  have  made  for  himself  a 
place  worth  while  in  the  realm  of  whacever  he 
choose  to  follow. 


^e^^^«^^S@o^ 


DARING  ATTEMPTS  TO  ESCAPE 


jANY  DARING  attempts  to  escape  have 
been  made  in  the  Oregon  penitentiary, 
but  for  sheer,  downright  nerve,  pitted 
against  one  chance  in  a  thousand  for  success,  there 
is  nothing  yet  to  compare  with  the  foolhardy  effort 
of  three  men  from  the  shoe  shop  in    August,  1917. 

The  shoe  shop  at  that  time  was  located  di- 
rectly over  the  rotunda  of  the  prison.  In  the  hall- 
way just  outside  the  shop,  was  a  short  stairway 
leading  to  the  roof  of  the  cell  houses,  but  half  way 
up  the  stairs  was  a  door,  secured  with  a  heavy 
padlock.  There  were  but  four  men  working  in  the 
shop  at  the  time,  three  of  whom  decided  to  take 
l^ave  of  their  sordid  surroundings,  so  one  morning 
about  nine  o'clock,  they  picked  the  lock  on  the  stair 
rioor  and  quickly  ascended  to  the  roof,  taking  with 
them  some  sixty  feet  of  rope  which  they  had  se- 
cured in  some  mysterious  manner  at  a  previous 
date. 

Fastening  one  end  of  the  rope  to  a  solid  foot- 


'=^5«?^4.j;;3®&»^ 


42 


ing  on  the  roof,  they  threw  the  other  end  over  the 
parapet  and  one  by  one,  slid  down  to  the  ground. 
On  the  way  down  they  passed  between  two  win- 
dows of  the  warden's  office  and  the  front  office 
clerical  force,  who  were  all  busy  at  the  time,  but 
had  any  of  them  glanced  up  from  their  work  they 
could  not  have  failed  to  notice  the  three  as  they 
passed  out  of  the  open  front  gate,  some  fifty  feet 
distant.  The  runaways  succeeded  in  hot-footing 
soome  two  hundred  yards  before  they  were  dis- 
covered by  a  couple  of  trustys.  who  gave  an  alarm 
and  the  chase  was  on.  ending  in  the  return  of  all 
three  of  the  truants. 


This  same  shop,  before  it  became  a  shoe 
foundry,  figured  in  another  episode,  though  whUe 
no  thought  of  escape  was  in  evidence  at  the  time, 
later  developments  forced  the  interested  party  to 
make  the  effort.     It  happened  in  this  way: 

The  female  ward  of  the  prison  is  located  in 
the  second  story  of  the  administration  building, 
and  separated  from  the  shoe  shop  in  the  prison 
proper  by  a  mere  brick  wall  some  two  feet  thick. 
An  old  saying  is  that  "love  laughs  at  locks  and 
bars;"  brick  walls  might  as  well  have  been  included. 

Now  a  year  or  two  previous  to  this  particular 


-e^^^"^^^©^- 


43 


time,  a  section  of  the  wide  base  board  in  the  shoe 
shop  had  been  neatly  cut  out  so  that  when  replaced 
loose  it  would  not  be  noticed.  A  hole  was  then  dug 
through  the  brick  wall,  leading  into  what  was  then 
a  store  room  of  the  vvomen's  ward.  By  the  under- 
ground system  of  communication  in  vogue  in  all 
prisons,  the  women,  six  in  number,  were  advised  as 
to  what  was  taking  place,  and  they,  with  common 
consent  and  mutual  desire,  set  to  work  on  their 
side  of  the  wall,  covering  the  results  of  their  labor 
by  pasting  newspapers  clear  around  the  room,  but 
leaving  the  one  over  the  hole  so  that  it  could  be  re- 
moved at  will. 

A  prisoner  whom  we  will  call  "Doc,"  for  the 
reason  he  worked  in  thf  hospital,  and  his  female 
accomplice  were  sent  here  together  on  a  fifteen- 
year  sentence,  and  for  some  time  Doc  (and  a  select 
few)  patronized  this  hole-in-the-wall  whenever  oc- 
casion permitted.  It  was  dangerous  business,  as 
the  possibility  of  getting  caught  functioned  at 
about  99  per  cent,  and  as  luck  would  have  it.  Doc 
was  the  fall  guy. 

One  day  Doc  was  tipped  off  that  the  matron 
would  be  away  all  afternoon,  so  he  made  for  the 
secret  entrance  at  the  first  opportunity.  During 
visits  of  that  sort,  time  flies  without  notice,  which 
the  ijair  discovered  to  their  sorrow,  for  just  as  Doc 


44 


was  about  to  leave  the  room,  the  matron's  voice 
was  heard  in  the  hall.  With  the  matron  were  one 
or  two  visitors,  and  woman-like  they  talked  and 
talked,  standing  in  the  hall  and  shntting  off  Doc's 
escape  to  the  hole.  And  holy  horrors!  The  five 
o'clock  bell  was  ringing!  In  five  minutes,  the 
count!     And  Doc  missing! 

The  jig  was  up.  Doc,  perforce  must  remain 
missing,  which  he  did.  For  nine  days  he  stuck  to 
that  room,  planning  a  way  out.  After  the  excit- 
ment  died  down  he  prepared  to  make  good  his  es- 
cape, intending  to  take  the  girl  with  him,  dressed 
as  a  man  in  clothes  smuggled  through  the  hole. 

One  morning  about  five  o'clock,  he  proceeded 
to  tie  up  the  other  women  prisoners,  intending  to 
tie  the  matron,  too,  take  her  keys  and  walk  out 
with  his  accomplice.  His  first  prisoner  was  a  game 
little  colored  girl,  who  was  willing  enough  to  be 
tied  if  it  would  help  the  plot  along,  but  the  next 
one,  seeing  a  chance  to  make  herself  solid  and  per- 
haps gain  a  pardon,  (which  she  did)  changed  her 
mind  regarding  the  prearranged  programme,  threw 

open  a  window  and  proceeded  to  wake  up  the  west- 
ern half  of  the  State  of  Oregon  v/ith  her  screeches. 
That  settled  it.  Doc  flew  for  the  hole-in-the-wall 
and  attempted  to  hide  in  the  prison,  but  was  found 
in  a  few  moments,  and  it  is  needless  to  add,  "them 
days  is  gone  forever." 


-«^^l«#^Ss^- 


BEAUTIFUL 

ART  LEATHE 


¥Aff^iT¥  BA 


Quality    and    workmanship    the 
very  best 


ONLY  GENUINE  FIRST 
GRADE    LEATHER  USED 


Price  $10.00  and  up 


For  description  and  prices  address 


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Rt.  6,  Box  1 


Salem,  Ore. 


JUL  I    mi 

MAY  1  0  Ib48 
Alls  i  0  1953 
APR  2  4  1959 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

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